KLM: A+; Northwest/Delta: FAIL

Here's a report on my journey home from Amsterdam, and a few more miscellaneous photos from my trip. Before I relate the tale of the long road home, let's take a look at the doorway to the left. I took quite a few pictures of the entrances to buildings while I was in Amsterdam, but I'll just post this one. I loved the blue color, and the interestingly placed door knob. Sadie, who lived in Amsterdam for several months, told me that the notices next to the letterbox (hard to see in the photo) indicate whether the occupant will accept junk mail & advertisements or not. What a concept!

I went to the airport before dawn on my day of departure, only to learn that my name had inexplicably been wiped off the passenger manifest for my return flight home. KLM tried to get me on the early morning flight to Detroit, but it didn't pan out. However, a representative whisked me off to their offices, and I waited in comfort while they scrambled about making new travel arrangements. After a short time, I had a confirmed booking on a 10:30 flight. KLM also gave me vouchers for food & beverage while I waited in the terminal, a coupon for 2000 flyer miles, and a considerable wad of euros in cash.

When I boarded the plane, I was relieved to see that I was not seated in the middle of the middle. On a flight home from Spain one time I was seated in the very back row of the middle section, which meant that the seat reclined about one inch. I was between a rambunctious two year old boy and a very large man. That was a long flight.

This time I had an aisle seat, and - bonus! - was beside a handsome young man. He turned out to be an American who played on a professional Norwegian hockey team. He was very friendly & engaging without being annoyingly talkative when I was ready to nap. He was traveling home for the holidays.

When I arrived in Detroit, my plans went south, which meant that I did not. More about that after you browse my remaining photos from Amsterdam.

Taken from a street near Suzanne's apartment. The Amstel River is at the end of the block.

David & Suzanne chatting on the sidewalk when we first arrived.

My little suitcase in my corner of the apartment. It was nice not having a lot of extra baggage.

Suzanne & Brett moved into their new apartment just a couple weeks prior to my visit. It's been modernized recently, and is quite spacious by European standards. This is a view of the dining room, with its opening to the kitchen.

Many first floor flats have a small private garden area in the rear. The high back walls like these are a favorite haunt of neighborhood cats. Roaming kitties can get some fresh air while they taunt indoor pets.

When they first arrived in Amsterdam, David's cats, Brenda & JJ, stayed huddled in their litter box for safety. Here, they are finally venturing out of the box to more a comfortable place on David's bed.

Suzanne opens her shop for the day! I went to work with her my second day in Amsterdam.

The shop has a nice loft, and you can see Suzanne zipping about on the main sales floor in this photo.

Amsterdam Centraal railway station opened in 1889. Trains, trams, buses, taxis, and nearby ferries make this a main transportation hub in The Netherlands. The next shot shows the station's interior decorated for Christmas.



Suzanne & I welcomed a hearty snack after traipsing around the city on a snowy day.

All of the trams that I rode were new and sleek, except for this one charming older tram. It was clean & well maintained, just like the newer models.

This building near Vondelpark had incredibly gorgeous decorative tile. The photo does not do it justice.

The lobby restaurant of the Westin Hotel at Detroit's airport, my home away from home.

When I arrived in Detroit I learned that all flights to Dulles had been cancelled because of the huge winter storm. Let me tell you, Delta/Northwest has wretched customer service. Unlike my experience with KLM, I was instructed to run my ass from counter to counter, terminal to terminal, only to be told by indifferent employees that the earliest confirmed flight would get me to Dulles on late Monday night. It was early afternoon on Saturday, so I went immediately to the Westin Hotel attached to the airport to secure a room before every other delayed traveler had the same notion.

I'll not bore you with the endless lines I shuffled through trying to get an earlier flight over the next two days. I did get a seat on a flight that was four hours earlier than the 10 o'clock flight on Monday night, but here is where Delta's greed became truly apparent: I had to pay an additional $50 to change my flight. I was so desperate to get home that I handed my credit card to the clerk. I didn't raise a fuss, because she had put in a hell of a day. It wasn't her policy; she was following Delta's instructions. I knew better than to dream that Delta would cover my hotel expenses, but since it was mutually beneficial to get backlogged passengers through their system as quickly as possible, it would have made good business sense to waive the $50 fee. I will not travel willingly on Delta/Northwest again. I'd rather stay home. Air travel is hellish enough these days without an avaricious airline bending me over their ticket counter.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play? Quite well, thank you! The difficulties getting home could not mar the wonderful time I had in Amsterdam with Suzanne. The euros that KLM generously offered me covered my hotel expenses, and all's well that ends well. I got to see a new city, and return to my own bed with a new sense of gratitude. There's no place like home.

The air traffic control tower at Detroit mocks me from my hotel window.